January 22, 2026

INVITATION TO THE SPECIAL CALLED ASSEMBLY MEETING

Please register & also forward to the Elder Commissioner elected by your Session to represent your congregation.

Dear Assembly Members,

Happy New Year!

At the request of the Committee on Ministry (COM), I am inviting you to a special called Assembly meeting for the purpose of examining Kevin Rogers, Ruling Elder of Kokomo, Faith, for commissioning as Pastor to Dayton Memorial Presbyterian Church. Kevin has completed all training required by the presbytery for commissioning. The final step is an examination, as outlined in G-2.1002 of the Book of Order, so that he can be commissioned to serve the church.

The meeting will be held via Zoom immediately following the Coordinating Council meeting, at approximately 11:30 a.m. Eastern Time / 10:30 a.m. Central Time.

The Zoom link and password-protected document(s)will be provided by the Presbytery office with your confirmed registration by 1/22/2026.

For your information Kevin will be giving a short sermon, reading his statement of faith, and answering questions on his personal faith, and his sense of call.

Thank you for your participation.

Peace!

Dal Kwon, PWV Moderator

Join us BY ZOOM!

Tuesday, January 27, 2026

@ approximately 11:30 am (ET) / 10:30 am (CT)

Click HERE to register

Registration deadline is TODAY (1/22/2026)

https://lp.constantcontactpages.com/ev/reg/94yzu7b

Directions: Take the immediate right driveway after entering and park in the lower, back lot. Enter through the double-set of wooden doors.

MARK YOUR CALENDAR

Calendar for the Week-

1/26 @ 9 (ET) = Staff Meeting

1/27 @ 10 (ET) = Coordinating Council & Ex-Officio members - by Zoom

1/27 @ 11:30(ET) = **Assembly Special Called Meeting - By Zoom

**Registration required.

1/27@ noon (ET) after Special Called meeting = Leadership Team (Zoom)

Coming Up-

2/02 @ 9 (ET) = Staff Meeting

2/04 @ 10a-2p (ET) Boundary Training (see information above)

2/05 @ 10 (ET) = Commission on Ministry - by Zoom

2/05 @ 1 (ET) = Commission on Preparation for Ministry - by Zoom

2/09 @ 9 (ET) = Staff Meeting - by Zoom

2/09 @ 10 (ET) = Stewardship Ministry Team - by Zoom

2/12 @ 1 (ET) = Nominating Committee - by Zoom

2/16 = Office Closed in observance of President's Day

Hello, Northwest Indiana Congregations,

The Center for Congregations invites you to a convening of congregational leaders in our Crown Point office to talk about the importance of mental health and the challenges congregations are facing in attending to the mental health of their communities.

Norm LeClercq and Timothy Hill from New Leaf Resources will join Center for Congregations staff Matt Burke and Miriam Mendez to talk about this important subject. This session will be in three parts:

Norm will talk about how congregations can be a place of growth and healing
Tim will provide information on New Leaf Resources, a local organization with offices in Lansing, IL, Crown Point IN and Wheatfield IN that can support your congregation’s mental health endeavors
Matt and Miriam will facilitate a conversation about the challenges your congregations are facing in regards to mental health.

This convening will take place on Wednesday, February 4, 2026 from 12:00 PM to 1:30 PM Central Time at the Center for Congregations Crown Point office at 9801 Connecticut Dr Suite 200, Crown Point, IN 46307.

This is a free event. Lunch will be provided but space is limited so sign up as soon as possible. Register by clicking here: REGISTER NOW

Warm regards,

Matt Burke

Senior Director of Resource Consulting and Grants

9801 Connecticut Dr., Ste. 200

Crown Point, IN 46307-7773

O: 219.472.4938

The Center for Congregations strengthens Indiana congregations by helping them find and use the best resources to address their challenges and opportunities.

The Center for Congregations is funded by Lilly Endowment, Inc. and is a supporting organization of the Christian Theological Seminary in Indianapolis and Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary.

Upcoming Funding Sources and Community Resources

The presbytery has a wonderful list of grant resources and community resources sourced by the EPA on file, including specific areas like environmental concerns to more general information such as strategic planning and grant writing.

To request the list, simply email info@ourpresbytery.org and it will be forwarded to you.

2026 Preaching Retreat

at the Sacre Coeur Retreat Center

Looking for ways to breathe new life into preaching for Holy Week and Easter? Join us for this workshop with Anna Carter Florence and Jake Myers from Columbia Theological Seminary, as we explore the familiar lectionary stories from Year A together. This two-day event will be a lively and energizing deep dive into Scripture and your own preaching ministry

HURRY and register by February 1st

Click here to learn more and to register. Maximum 30 preachers.

Event Dates: Friday, March 6 & Saturday, March 7, 2026

Location: Sacre Coeur Retreat Center

8508 Country Road 100N, Magnolia, IL 61336

(309)409-5519

$25 Commissioned Ruling Elders
$50 Ministers of Word and Sacrament and other preachers

Cost Includes:

Friday lunch, dinner, evening social time, overnight accommodations, breakfast, and Saturday lunch.

Lent - Downloadable Group Studies

for Youth and Adults

With these downloadable resources for Lent, you can find easy-to-use, affordable group studies perfect to fit your needs. Keep reading to learn about the Lent units from the Follow Me curriculum series!

Frank L. and Laura L. Smock Foundation

January 6, 2026

Dear Friends,

Since 1955, the Frank L. and Laura L. Smock Foundation has helped countless Indiana Presbyterians and their churches. The Smock Foundation continues to fulfill Laura Smock’s vision: to provide benevolent assistance to promote the health, welfare and happiness of Indiana Presbyterians in need of support, focusing on senior Presbyterians.

During 2025, the Smock Foundation Trust incorporated as a nonprofit religious corporation, officially becoming The Frank and Laura Smock Trust Corporation, Inc. Under the Bylaws of the Corporation, the Smock Foundation elected a Board of Directors. The Board consists of three Directors for each Presbytery in Indiana. Each Presbytery appointed the executive presbyter or head of staff to serve as that Presbytery’s Designated Director and named two additional Directors to represent that Presbytery.

Representing the Presbytery of Whitewater Valley, are:

Rev. Dr. Erin McGee, Lead Presbyter, Designated Director
Steven Weissner, Board President
Rev. Robert Heimach, Board Treasurer

Representing the Presbytery of Ohio Valley, are:

Rev. Susan McGhee, Executive Presbyter, Board Secretary, Designated Director
Alicia Holt, Director
Rev. Wendy Baptist VanderZee, Director

Representing the Presbytery of Wabash Valley, are:

Rev. Jennifer Burns Lewis, Visioning & Connecting Leader, Designated Director
Sheridan Hadley, Director
Rev. Alan Griffin, Director

The Smock Foundation provided $1,190,794 to assist Indiana Presbyterians, individually or through their churches in 2025.

$195,523 was given to individuals to help with medical expenses and equipment, essential home repair, monthly care at home or in assisted living facilities, and other critical needs.
$199,000 was awarded to Presbyterian churches for Smock Deacon Funds. These Deacon Funds enable individual churches to provide assistance to their members. The Smock Foundation knows that church pastors and leadership know their members’ needs best and can provide immediate relief for them.
$755,901 in approved grants allowed Presbyterian churches to complete needed repairs to their buildings and purchase equipment that would improve and enhance the worship and fellowship experiences at their churches. Often these repairs were to meet ADA requirements for their aging members.
$40,370 made it possible for churches to provide programs and activities for senior members.

The smockfoundation.com website completed the first year of successfully accepting grant applications online. The website allows churches and members to complete a simple application online that goes directly to the Smock Foundation Administrator without going through a third-party vendor. This

streamlined process makes it easier for you and your members to apply for a grant. The website will be updated in 2026 to further streamline the process and to include new information the Board of Directors wants to share to clarify the application and grant process.

We encourage you to promote the Smock Foundation resources to your members and to your church leadership as a generous and gracious benefit to Indiana Presbyterians.

The Smock Foundation looks forward to another year of serving your churches and members!

Peace,

Steven Weissner, Board of Directors President

Susanne M. Rowe, Smock Foundation Administrator

Christian Theological Seminary

We are all weary of our times. Many of us are afraid, as we see our worlds collapsing just in front of our eyes. What can we do? Prayer has always been a tremendous resource for Christians to go through everything in life. To think about prayer can be a way through and perhaps even a way out.

Prayer as Political Response and Accompaniment

by: Yara González-Justiniano, PhD, Vanderbilt Divinity School

Our Life in Common

February 25, 2026 from 12-1pm, ONLINE

*Next event is April 8, 2026,

by Amy Lindeman Allen, PhD, Christian Theological Seminary

For What or Whom Else Shall We Pray?

Attn: Church Treasurers

2026 Mileage

The IRS Mileage Reimbursement for vouched professional miles will increase to .72.5 per mile on 1/1/2026. Confirm that your church has a Session-approved Accountable Reimbursement Plan that addresses professional expense reimbursements. Your staff members could face adverse tax consequences if you do not have an approved plan. A sample Accountable Reimbursement Plan is available on the website under the Treasurer tab or click this link https://www.ourpresbytery.org/church-treasurers . Don't hesitate to contact Eric Herzog at the Presbytery office if you have questions.

January 22 is the Deadline for Remitting 2025 Gifts

In order to ensure your gifts are counted in 2025, you must remit Special Offering gifts by January 22, 2026. Any gifts received after this date, when the books close, will be designated as 2026 gifts.

Gifts received after the books close

for the Pentecost and Peace & Global Witness offerings:

Pentecost Offering funds remitted after January 22 will still support the causes of children at risk, youth and young adults, but will be reported as gifts to the Christmas Joy Offering, where the General Assembly moved these causes.

Peace & Global Witness funds remitted after January 22 will still support the causes of peacemaking and global witness, but will be reported as gifts to the World Communion Offering, where the General Assembly moved these causes.

PC(USA) Special Offerings Undergo Change

Submitted by Gwynn Wills, Moderator - Ministry & Outreach

In 2024, the 226th General Assembly voted to reconfigure the PC(USA) Special Offerings, beginning with the 2026 calendar year. Below are the highlights of the changes and the timeline with which they will occur:

• One Great Hour of Sharing will take place during the seasons of Lent and Easter. This offering will be a call to remind us of the most vulnerable in Christ’s kingdom.

• World Communion Offering will take place in early Fall and focus specifically on cultivating reconciliation, with an invitation for all to the table of grace. A new grant opportunity will be announced in detail.

• The Christmas Joy Offering will take place during Advent and Christmas to support church leaders; past, present, and future.

The Christmas Joy Offering benefits the following:

• Children-at-Risk,

• Youth & Young Adults,

• Leadership Development for People of Color,

• Presbyterian-related Schools & Colleges,

• Equipping communities of Color (SCECC) 35%*, Servants of the Church in Need [through the Assistance Program of the Board of Pensions] 35%.

One Great Hour of Sharing is given in response to the following:

• Disaster

• Hunger

• Poverty

• Climate Change

• Immigration, Migration & Refugees

The World Communion Offering will be received on World Communion Sunday, the first Sunday in October, with a Season of Preparation that seeks to cultivate forms of reconciliation encountered when Christ gathers all of God’s people to the Table of Grace, around the corner and around the world. Distribution and causes:

Grants issued to other councils of the Church reflecting the values of the WCO.

Causes that include aspects that may be described as reconciliatory, including:

• Racial Justice.

• Gender Justice

• Peacemaking

• Global witness

• Ecumenical and Interfaith Witness

More details regarding the application and administration of the grants will be forthcoming.

The changes in the Special Offerings began on January 1, 2026, and any offerings designated for the 2025 calendar year must be remitted by January 22, 2026, or they will go towards the following:

• Pentecost -> Christmas Joy Offering fund.

• Peace & Global Witness -> World Communion Offering fund.

If you wish to hear this information firsthand, there will be webinars available on these dates:

January 26 from 6-7:15 CST (link) https://events.teams.microsoft.com/event/54b3422a-5dc1-4b1b-a43a-b77dd483fc8d@99082a1a-70af-459f-a6ac-8ad01476a157 or
February 10 from 3-4:15 PM CST (link) https://events.teams.microsoft.com/event/64b72591-bd65-4e4a-a4e4-240437afaf39@99082a1a-70af-459f-a6ac-8ad01476a157

2026 Per Capita is $45.08

Your PWV Stewardship Ministry Team and Coordinating Council approved the 2026 per capita rate at $45.08.

01/27/1980 - The Rev. David A. Smith, Parish Associate, Peru- First

OPEN SEARCHES FOR PASTORAL LEADERSHIP

Memorial Presbyterian Church Dayton - MDP for Commissioned Pastor
First Presbyterian Church, Goshen - MDP for Installed Pastor
First Presbyterian Church, Goshen - MDP for Commissioned Pastor
First Presbyterian Church, Monticello - MDP for Commissioned Pastor
First Presbyterian Church, Monticello - MDP for Installed Pastor
Wabash Presbyterian Church, Wabash - MDP for Installed Pastor
Wabash Presbyterian Church, Wabash - MDP for Commissioned Pastor

Prayers of the Presbytery

Let us pray:

Almighty God, on the steep path of our calling, we ask that you keep us faithful. Lead us to weep with those who weep and to rejoice with those who rejoice. We praise you for the gift of your Holy Spirit, who is alive in all that is good. Amen.

Prayer from the Mission Yearbook PC(USA)

We are thankful for the ministry and service of First Presbyterian Church, Mishawaka.

Lord, we pray: